Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-03-21
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
A WAR LECTURE.

A Private Soldiers Experiences in the
War of the Rebellion.
R. T. Booth, who has been conducting
the temperance mission here, lectured at
the Metropolitan Theater Saturday evening
on War "reminiscences" He had good
and responsive audience. Mr. Booth is an
easy speaker, fluent in language, strong in
voice and dramatic in his methods. His
best style is in narrative. He tells story
capitallv At times in pathetic passages he
moved the audience deeply, and rose to
plane of imprisoned eloquence. He is
witty and humorous. In some respects he
is exasperating; that is after exciting the
sympathies deeply, stirring the very soul
with pathe.ic recital, or fervent apostrophe,
he turns like flash to the ludicrous, and
and from, the hight of exalted emotion lets
the auditor fall to the depths of bald with
cism, and he comes down with sudden
ness that, while he is bound to laugh and
acknowledge the skill of the orator in an
ti-climax, makes one feel as if he'd like to
walk over the footlights and physically
protest against such transitions. Mr.Booth
spoke for nearly two hours and held his
audience in closest attention. George W.
Ficks, of Fair Oaks Post, G. A. R., presid-
ed, and introduced the speaker as soldier
who served CALAMITY in the war of the Re
bellion on the Union side as private. He
was the first war lecturer he said, whom
he had met who had acknowledged
that he was only a private.
We cannot give any synopsis
of the lecture, since it was rapid-running
narrative of the war excitement in the East
IN 1862, of enlistment, of service IN field
and camp and hospital, of battle and
wounds and death, and finally of the sur
render of Lee and the coming of peace.
There was caustic wit, keen analysis of
motives, warm and generous tributes to
the bravery and manliness of the rebel
soldiers. and lofty apostrophes to the heroes
of the Union arms. There were no words
of bitterness or reproach, but no conceal
ments of issues for which the soldiers bat
tied. He began with the bombsrdment of
Fort Sumter, and led up to his own enlist
ment in 1862, in the One Hundred and
Eleventh New York Volunteers, along with
his father and two brothers. He took the
nearer with him to Harper's Ferry, paid
warm tribute to John Brown in passing,
detailed the surrender of his regiment at
Harpers Ferry, the transfer to Chicago on
parole, the release three months after, and
the return to service. He was in winter
camp on the field of Bull Run, engaged in
burying the bones of the Union dead.
Then came the invasion of Pennsylvania
by Lee, and the march of the Unionists
to the relief of Reynolds at Gettys-
burg. The description OF that forced march
was graphic and thrilling. After a sketch
beautiful in word-painting and vivid in
depletion of night scene before the battle
he came to the great contest at Gettys-
burg. The story of the charge of the rebels
down to the Emmettsburg road was full of
dramatic interest, and the auditors were
made to see the "greys' coming, tramp,
tramp, down the slope upon the blue
coats, the retiracy of the latter, the capture
of batteries, the recovery of the guns, the
driving back of the rebels and the final
victory on field strewn with the dead.
Then came the dismal watch of the night,
the final fight, the retreat of Lee and the
pursuit Next transfer of scene was made
to the Wilderness and the scenes before
Petersburg, and finally the surrendering of
Lee at Appomattox, the union in hand grasp
of gray'' and blue" the march to Wash
ington and peace, closing with magnifi-
, cent tribute to Grant and to the restored
:, Union.